Why mobile apps and games seek our data

A video game is played on the new Nexus 7 tablet during a Google event on Wednesday, July 24, 2013, in San Francisco. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo)

Q: Why do games need access to read the call log and personal contacts or find accounts on my phone? What are the potential problems associated with accepting these permissions?

-- Dayle Axman

A: In most instances, the games are seeking access to your contacts so that you or they can invite your friends to play the same game. Some apps may use information about you to deliver targeted or more relevant in-game advertisements. While there may be an occasional rogue app, the information these games seek is often the same data you already share with Facebook, Google or other tech companies. If you think a program is seeking to access personal data that doesn't seem to have a purpose for the application or game, look for an alternative. That shouldn't be difficult, as there are hundreds of thousands of apps and games in both the Google Play and Apple App store.